/ / IHRC says Ireland scores poorly on its record to eliminate racial discrimination

IHRC says Ireland scores poorly on its record to eliminate racial discrimination

Human Rights Day, 10 December

 

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) today published its report on Ireland’s record on racial discrimination and called for better protection by the Government of the rights of asylum seekers, the Traveller Community, migrant workers and their families, and victims of human trafficking. The IHRC is also calling for the restoration of resources for monitoring and combating racial discrimination and abuse. The report has been sent to the United Nations (UN) Committee responsible for monitoring Ireland’s record under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Ireland will be examined on its record in February 2011.

Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC said

"the IHRC is publishing its report on Ireland’s record in tackling racial discrimination on Human Rights Day 2010 which this year pays tribute to human rights defenders who act to end discrimination. Ireland is a multi-ethnic country but regrettably racial discrimination is a problem here. Ireland will report on its record in tackling racial discrimination in 2011. Since Ireland last reported, the human rights and equality infrastructure that worked to promote multiculturalism and combat racism has been either disbanded or disabled. In a recent survey, ethnic minorities reported their perceptions of a high level of racial discrimination and abuse. Effective human rights and equality bodies are required to monitor and combat racial discrimination, the restoration of the resources to carry out this work is essential."

 

Dr Manning continued

"Travellers have experienced racial discrimination for generations yet they are not recognised as an ethnic minority. Not enough good quality halting sites are being provided to the Traveller Community by local authorities. The criminal trespass legislation criminalises trespass on public land in circumstances where public authorities have systematically failed in their statutory obligations to house Traveller families. Travellers also continue to achieve poor educational outcomes and are in very poor health compared to the general population. Severe cuts in funding to essential services can only compound these problems."

 

The IHRC is also concerned about safeguarding the rights of asylum seekers at points of entry to the country and while having their application for refugee status processed.

Dr Manning said

"there needs to be greater transparency and fairness in how people are treated at our borders. Once in the system, people seeking asylum are also spending too long waiting for their applications to be processed. This needs to be tackled urgently as the long stay in hostels, prohibition on working and social isolation are among the causes of worrying levels of poor mental health among asylum seekers. The direct provision payment of €19.10 per week, which has remained unchanged since 1999, is wholly inadequate and must be revised upwards even in these straitened times."

 

The IHRC also considers that the requirement for foreign nationals to carry identification documents has the potential to lead to discriminatory treatment against people on grounds such as colour, race or other distinguishing characteristics such as religious dress. This measure may also have an impact on Irish citizens from racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

 

The IHRC is concerned that there are insufficient human rights safeguards in legislation and policy to protect migrant workers and their families.

Mr Éamonn Mac Aodha, Chief Executive of the IHRC said

"vulnerable migrant workers need greater legislative and policy protections, especially those working in the hospitality industry, rural workers, (including those working in agriculture), and women migrant workers, particularly those working in domestic households. Family reunification should also be legislated for in a positive, humane and expeditious manner, and the ‘best interests of child assessment’ should form an integral part of the family reunification determination. The Government should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and put the necessary domestic legal protections in place."

The IHRC also reported to the Committee on the impact of an increasingly diverse society and the desire for greater choice in relation to schools.

Mr Mac Aodha said

 

"Parents and older children should have adequate choice in the range of primary and post-primary schools available in keeping with increased diversity and the changing nature of Irish society."

Mr Mac Aodha continued "it is also clear that legislative and policy changes are required to ensure that people of non-faith and from religious minorities are not deterred from training as teachers or taking up employment as teachers."

Key Findings and Recommendations

 

Human Rights & Equality Infrastructure

  • Severe cuts to the human rights & equality infrastructure is having an negative impact on monitoring and combating racial discrimination in Ireland.

 

Non-denominational & Multi-denominational Schools

  • 98% of Irish primary schools are under religious patronage. There should be an adequate choice in the range of primary and post-primary schools available in keeping with the increased diversity and changing nature of Irish society. The statutory option of withdrawing children from religious instruction in classes is difficult to exercise in practice, particularly in rural areas and where the curriculum is integrated as is the case in the primary schools.
  • Legislative and policy changes are required to ensure that people of non-faith and from religious minorities are not deterred from training as teachers or taking up employment as teachers.

 

Traveller Community

  • The Traveller Community experience high levels of racial discrimination, yet they are not recognised as an ethnic minority. Refusal to recognise Travellers as an ethnic minority suggests a lack of understanding by the Government of the importance Travellers place on the recognition of their culture and identity. The lack of recognition may also place obstacles in the way Travellers access protections under international human rights conventions.
  • Educational attainment among Travellers is extremely low compared to the general population. Adequate resources are needed to implement the National Traveller Education Strategy. Traveller organisations are not sufficiently represented in the monitoring and implementation of the strategy.
  • Travellers experience much poorer health than the general population. Greater investment is needed in Traveller Health Strategies to reverse this trend. The life expectancy of Traveller men is less than 62 years, 15 years below the national average. Traveller infants were found to be 3.6 times more likely to die than infants in the general population. Suicide rates are 6.6 times higher than in the general population.
  • Not enough good quality halting sites are being provided to the Traveller Community by local authorities. In such circumstances criminal trespass may be being applied disproportionately. This law criminalises trespass on public land in circumstances where public authorities have systematically failed in their statutory obligations to house Traveller families.
  • Traveller organisations need to be more involved and represented in policy and decision-making forums at national and local level.

 

Asylum Seekers in Direct Provision

  • Direct provision payments are not adequate to meet the basic needs of people seeking asylum.
  • People remain too long in the asylum process, recent figures showed that more than one third spend 3 years in direct provision.
  • High incidences of poor mental health are of concern as are the negative impacts of the prohibition on work, limited access to education and the resulting social isolation.
  • Asylum seekers who become homeless have no safety-net. Homeless asylum seekers are not entitled to emergency social welfare supports available to other homeless people.

 

Detention of Asylum Seekers and Immigrants

  • Prisons and police stations are not suitable places for the detention for asylum applicants who have not been convicted of a criminal offence. People should only be detained in suitable centres pending deportation where there is a real risk they will abscond and such detention should be as short as possible.
  • Ireland approves refugee status for the lowest number of applications in the EU (14 out of 1,014 up to July 2010). In addition, proposals in the 2010 Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill aim to limit applicants time to appeal such decisions to 14 days.

 

Security Procedures and Practices on Entry to the State

  • Clearer criteria must be put in place for decisions made by Immigration Officers in relation to immigrants’ entry into the State. The vague criteria applied in cases of refusal of leave to land should be removed from the Statute book.
  • The requirement for foreign nationals to carry identification documents has the potential to lead to discriminatory treatment against people on grounds such as colour, race or other distinguishing characteristics such as religious dress. This measure may also have an impact on Irish citizens from racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

 

Migrant Workers

  • The Government should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
  • Vulnerable migrant workers need greater legislative and policy protections, especially those working in the hospitality industry, rural workers, especially those working in agriculture, and women migrant workers, particularly those working in domestic households.
  • Principles governing family reunification for different categories of migrant workers should be elaborated in primary legislation taking into account the requirements of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the protection of private and family life.
  • Family reunification should be dealt with in a positive, humane and expeditious manner, and the "best interests of child assessment" should form an integral part of the family reunification determination where applicable.

 

Human Trafficking

  • Permission for victims of human trafficking to remain in the country for a period of rest and recovery should not be conditional on victim’s co-operation in the criminal prosecution of alleged traffickers. Permission to remain should also be allowed for humanitarian reasons taking into account the personal situation of the victim. Special consideration should be given to providing leave to remain for child victims of trafficking.
  • The provision of legal representation to suspected victims of trafficking is welcome. A further positive step would be the establishment of a central fund to compensate victims of trafficking. Civil proceedings in this sphere should be supported by a legal aid scheme for victims.

 

Unaccompanied minors and separated children

  • Irish legislation must reflect the minimum standards set out by UNHCR, Save the Children, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child on this issue.
  • A guardian or advisor should be appointed to all unaccompanied or separated children, whether or not they have made a protection application. The guardian should be consulted and informed regarding all actions taken in relation to the child.

Click here for the full IHRC Report

 

Ends/

 

For further information please contact

Fidelma Joyce, IHRC

Tel: 01 8589601; Mob: 087 783 4939

 

 

Notes to the Editor:

10 December is International Human Rights Day. It commemorates the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on that date in 1948.

 

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties. Ireland signed the CERD Convention in 1968 and ratified the Convention in December 2000. All States parties to the Convention are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights contained in the Convention are being implemented. States must initially report one year after acceding to the Convention and then every two years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations". Ireland’s combined 3rd and 4th Reports to the CERD Committee will be considered in February 2011 in Geneva. As Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, the IHRC is entitled to submit a report to the CERD Committee and has a role to play in relation to the examination of the State Report.

For more information see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/

The State Report is available at

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/AdvanceVersions/CERD-C-IRL-3_4.doc